Craig’s Electrical Contractor Articles

My lighting column in the April 2013 issue of ELECTRICAL CONTRACTOR addresses LED product maintenance. Over the past months, I’ve had the opportunity to work with the IES Maintenance Committee on revising RP36, and conducted extensive interviews with manufacturers and others about maintaining LED products. As you might suspect, they’re not quite maintenance free. Click [...]

ELECTRICAL CONTRACTOR recently published a lighting column I authored on the topic of the Light Right Survey Tool, available here. Developed by the Pacific Northwest National Laboratory, it enables building owners/managers and lighting practitioners to inventory and evaluate lighting systems in office spaces. Available free, the Light Right Survey Tool can be used: • As a [...]

Lighting choices can affect how we perceive spaces, even the colors of objects and surfaces. As a result, lamp color characteristics are a critical factor in a wide range of spaces, from high-end retail, where merchandise must be presented as vibrant and in its true colors, to offices, where good lighting renders faces naturally and [...]

Rebates and incentives offered by electric utilities and regional energy-efficiency organizations are currently enjoying a major upswing, providing a significant resource that can reduce the cost of investing in energy-efficient lighting. According to the Consortium for Energy Efficiency (CEE), energy-efficiency rebate and incentive programs reached $6.8 billion in 2011, up 26% from 2010 ($5.4 billion) [...]

Stairwell lighting is typically operated continuously at full output in nonresidential buildings even though these spaces are only intermittently used. In recent years, lighting manufacturers have begun offering a control solution that can reduce energy costs while providing satisfactory levels of illumination for emergency egress. These lighting fixtures automatically adjust light levels based on occupancy. [...]

The Model Lighting Ordinance (MLO), produced jointly by the Illuminating Engineering Society (IES) and the International Dark-Sky Association (IDA), provides a template for municipalities seeking to develop standards for responsible outdoor lighting. Specifically, the MLO addresses skyglow (light emitted up into the sky that obscures nighttime viewing of stars), light trespass (light emitted onto neighboring [...]

Electrodeless lamps do not require wiring connections between the lamp and its ballast or driver. As most wear and tear on lamps occurs at the electrode, its absence in this technology can significantly extend lamp life. This article I wrote for ELECTRICAL CONTRACTOR breaks down the different types, from induction lamps to plasma lamps. Not [...]

By now, the electrical industry is well aware that national energy standards have eliminated the manufacture and import of fluorescent magnetic ballasts for 4- and 8-foot standard and energy-saving T12 lamps, with few exceptions. On July 14, 2012, Department of Energy (DOE) rules regulating general-service fluorescent lamps will go into effect, eliminating many popular models [...]

Electrical Contractor recently published an article I wrote about a simple methodology for evaluating light sources based on a basic series of questions: • What is the distribution of the light? Distribution is measured in candelas (cd). • How long does the lamp last? Service life is measured in hours. • How much light does [...]